although this time around my unemployment hasn’t kept me in bed every morning, today was a low day. it took a friend needing documents to be hand delivered to him to get me out of bed. that led to groceries.

this whole change in my daily life has led to many new experiences. grocery shopping is vastly different. when i was employed my grocery shopping occurred very quickly, and in the evening on the way home from work and included “i’m very hungry, this sounds good” purchases. The crowd me around me at these moments were, majority, professionals in a rush. grab whatever one can, get home, eat, etc. Now? So different. I’m with homemakers and the elderly and now. Nothing at all odd about it, just different. What I’ve realized is that it’s been a conscious effort on my part to slow down. The majority of the crowd is parents with infants, or parents post-school drop-off, and the elderly with coupons. And, I actually enjoy helping the elderly read coupons and product labels. (Point to be made here – i only see the elderly using coupons. shouldn’t the text be larger?) I find it great to be helpful, useful and listen to banter. they really just want to talk to people and i have time. the moms – a force not to be messed with. there’s a wide variety of them. some are very strict with quiet children, and some are earth-mothers with children hugging MY leg. (i don’t mind. it’s sweet.) then there’s the moms that are exhausted. i find myself conversing with them, and they seem relieved that i would do this. they always seem perturbed that i’m suggesting some product, or smiling at them. dads – no interaction. i only saw one today, with his wife, who seemed to be running the show. daddy was the cart-pusher. i have seen them though, they do exist, the stay at home dads.

it was different. glad I saw the difference.

staying home and cleaning the house, doing odd things, and cooking has been a strange experience as well. i’m still feeling like this isn’t the right thing for me and I need the employment. i’m sure, eventually, i’ll get the hang of things.